Review: Poppy Perezz- We Are Yours

First song Zicatela opens We Are Yours with an abrasive clash of bleeps and bubbliness that sounds like Sonic the Hedgehog having a heart attack. The garish sound is off putting and bizarre, but the pace does thankfully slow down as the album progresses, and the poppy songs can be appreciated in a more relaxed, less confrontational way. Sadly they’re not very good.

It is difficult in some ways to dislike Poppy Perezz since they sell themselves in such a charming, bombastic fashion. To look at their artwork or website is to be attacked by bright colours, CAPITAL LETTERS, fancy costumes, and general fun, fun, fun. And their biography tells a sweet story about a band centring on a long-term couple and that this “cosmic collision” tries to combine guitarist Pablo’s Mexican heritage with his interest in European and American music along with English Poppy’s singing. There’s nothing wrong with this sort of enthusiasm and it’s admirable to stray away from the clichés of coolness and detachment in guitar-based pop. But their child-like spirit and interesting back story isn’t enough to disguise the fact that this is a dull album.

There is a ska-like bounciness in all of the songs, and also some occasional mariachi rhythms and horns, so some people might like to bop along to it. There are some catchy moments too, like the infectious danceable rhythm of single I Give Up Myself, that suggests they might be reasonably fun to watch live, particularly if you’re drunk, under 12 or easily pleased. Few tracks are memorable however, and there’s not much variety in the album whatsoever. The songs are structurally all very similar and there is nothing impressive in the vocals, lyrics or arrangements to truly lift the album off. White Tigers for example sounds a little like Janelle Monae, but the comparison merely highlights the wild eclectic brilliance of her album Archandroid compared with the monotony of We Are Yours.

It’s a strange choice to hide away the best song (by far) at the end of the album as a hidden bonus track since it has a lovely lilting chorus, some sugary vocal harmonies and a satisfying melody that works really well. A few more quality songs like that one, and some more innovation could have perhaps saved this album to some degree. As it is, when assessing We Are Yours one unfortunately has to react to such glaring happiness with a glum unenthusiastic conclusion: it’s all right.